So we are back home after visiting the Smoky Mountains. I think I need a vacation from my vacation. I'm so tired. The trip was great, although the last few days felt a little redunant. Chivo said 4 days in the Smokies could have been enough for him and the 14 hour drive was rough! He did give me props for driving 24 hours home from Maryland in 2 days all by myself. Right now, I'm not even sure how I managed that. I guess lots of energy drinks.
Chivo graduated from college then night before we left on our trip, so we had to go out for dinner and dancing afterwards. I'm so proud of him and all his accomplishments. He impresses me all the time. Staying out late (until 2am) to celebrate was worth it but it killed us the next day.
Day 1.
We left Houston at 6:30am. Needless to say, we were tired but we had 14 hours of driving ahead of us.
We stopped at the Atchafalaya Louisiana Visitor Center. This is a cool visitor center, it has a little movie and exhibits for you to check out about the surrounding swamp.
Around noon we stopped at Louie & the Redheaded Lady for lunch. We had fried green tomatoes, fried oysters and banana fosters pancakes. It was delish!
We made a few other stops for gas, restroom breaks and food. We got to our timeshare around 12:30am. Such a LONG day.
States: Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee.
Day 2.
Rise and Shine! Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge have so many pancake places, it's really unbelieveable. Needless to say, I had my fix of pancakes on this trip to last me a good while!
FYI: Take the trolley to Gatlinburg or try to find parking on the back streets. The cheapest we found was $5/day but you have to pay each time you drive in or out. After breakfast we decided to walk around Gatlinburg, it reminds me of a boardwalk town but you are in the mountains. We tried a bunch of different types of moonshine. My favorite was the Apple Pie Moonshine. I tried the Cherries soaked in moonshine....OMG, they were strong!!! Not a fan. Then to get a nice view of the area, we took a ride on the Sky Lift. It was pretty cool and we got some great views but when you get to the top, there isn't much to do. Smokin Joes BBQ in Townsend, Hike in Cades Cove, Cades Cove loop, grocery store, dinner?
Day 3.
Make breakfast. Head to Asheville, NC to see Biltmore. Tired! Hungry Bear BBQ.
Day 4.
Old Town Pigeon Forge - the Dilley's rock. Rafting. Mellow Mushroom. Knoxville airport.
Day 5.
Pancakes. Gatlinburg. Whiskey. Moonshine. Tramway. Hungry Bear BBQ. Foothills Parkway. Dixie Stampede. Go Karts. Juice.
Day 6.
Chivo - timeshare talk. Bfast at Westgate. Hike. Gatlinburg. No way Jose.
Day 7. Drive to NOLA. Oceans. Bourbon.
Day 8. Houston by 3pm. Home by 4pm. Relax.
NOT FINISHED, STILL UPDATING.
